On The March

Today’s post will be rather brief, my friends. We’ve decided to head into Manhattan to take part in a protest march. Peaceful, of course – we wouldn’t do it any other way. It starts in Union Square with speeches and then moves up Fifth Avenue to (That Man’s) Tower.

It will be a long day, which seems very daunting to me at the moment, as I’ve just been out of bed for about a half hour. But worth it, I think. When I think of our current President’s legacy that is now in grave danger, I must speak out in support of him.

I’ll take pictures, of course.

A note: I’m going to be 64 years old in 9 days. I’ve always been someone who speaks out and fights for the underdog. I came of age during the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement – a time of protests. If I didn’t speak out now, I would be very disappointed in myself.

Do I need to say it again? This blog = a journal about my life = the good, bad, pretty, happy, sad, and what I believe in. If you want just nice posts and pretty pictures, you’ll indeed get that 98% of the time, but not always. You are welcome to move on if that doesn’t suit you. I don’t really need to hear about it but if that makes you feel better, okay.

There’s a pretty picture for you!

I have a horse story to share with you soon, either tomorrow or Monday.

Remember the Nancy Drew giveaway! (Scroll back two posts and leave a comment.)

Comments

Oh Claudia, please protest for me! We have had similar small protests in my hometown, but with my husband’s illness, I don’t dare leave for very long. I will be 64 tomorrow! Obviously, I grew up during the Vietnam Era, too. When I was a senior in high school, I had an opportunity to march in a protest at our state capital. I was there with our high school forensics team. I was lucky to earn the right to present my 8 minute memorized declamation during the state competition. When we left the competition, we encountered a group of university students from the U of Madison marching peacefully. My classmates and I joined in. Oh what a day! Oh what a memory!

I’m proud of you and Don. Ashleigh has found a way to reach out to other trans and help them this week. It’s good to see her doing something positive also. I grew up during the same era and I too believe in peaceful protests! Hugs!!

Oh I wish I could join you. I will watch for things going on in this area as well. Thanks for the heads up. BTW, I went to the womans web site that was on M’s comment and she isn’t all that nice on her own site either. I don’t think she gets that this wasn’t “just another election”. I thank you for your blunt but still conversational Do I need to say it again paragraph. So much nicer! too bad there seems to be a need to keep reminding. Have a safe day and soak up some much needed love from all the like minded protesters today. Then come back and give us a little of it!

I’ve truly enjoyed your pretty pictures for years without making a comment but this has brought me out of the shadows. I have great respect for what you and your husband are doing today. From the Deep South I say Yea y’all!

Bless you and Don and know many of us are with you every step of the way. Much strength in firmly but quietly standing up to be counted. You truly will be marching for us. Will be thinking of both of you…..Dianne

Some advice for your readers–I called my MD yesterday and have an appointment for an IUD consult and insertion. With the probable appeal of the ACA, such devices will be considerable more expensive, if they are even available. I do not want that administration dictating my reproductive rights. The IUD I am considering is good for 10 years and removable and reversible, should we decide to conceive. There is significant reasearch on risks and benefits, and I believe it to be a good option for me.

I am an occupational therapist in Florida, like your sister. I work daily with children of all abilities and talents. To say this week has been devastating is an understatement.

I have taken a small amount of solace in gathering my friends for a dinner tonight, wearing my safety pin, going on a neighborhood bike ride with new friends, and attending the orchestra. All important to me, all life-affirming.

Congratulations on attending the protest. Be safe (although I don’t believe you have concealed carry in NY, which hopefully makes it safer).

I have had this frenetic, nervous energy since the election. I imagine walking with like minded people would be a good thing. I look forward to hearing about your experience as well as the horse story.

What happened to your safety pin protest? What a difference a day makes. I’m sure the youth of today and other protesters will welcome two senior citizens with open arms. Good thing you said in a previous blog that you have been known to have a potty mouth. You can do the chants and use the words they use without being shocked and show your support. Enjoy your day and be safe. Maybe you can recapture some of the same feelings you had protesting the Vietnam War in your youth. Nothing like spending a day with like minded people to make you feel better. We are lucky we have the freedom to protest so many countries it’s not allowed. I hope in a future blog you compare protesting the Vietnam War to protesting against President Elect Trump.

Read the link about the safety pin – it’s not a protest, it’s an expression of solidarity to help those who are frightened or feel uneasy – you would have known that if you had read it.

I find your comment troubling: you assume only young people were protesting. All ages were there, from toddlers to the elderly. You also assume young people can’t protest without using, in your words, a ‘potty mouth.’ You couldn’t be more wrong. Frankly, it’s narrow minded thinking and also a dig at me. Not appreciated.

As for my attending a protest, that’s my decision. Your disparagement of a peaceful protest that my husband and I chose to be a part of makes not one bit of difference to me.

I feel like I need to comment. I will never leave your blog. What I love, in life, is that we can all be different, believe differently, and still come together with love in our hearts. It saddens me that the outcome of this presidential election has brought division between ‘we the people’. I can only hope, and pray that we unite and come together to strengthen ourselves and our country. I stand behind you 100% in standing up for what you believe in, and I am sad that so many choose to interject their opinion in such an ugly way. You do not deserve that. If they disagree, then they just need to remain silent, or move on, or put forth their opinion in a way that would reflect this: treat everyone else with the same respect, kindness and dignity that you would like to be treated. I am always in favor of a healthy debate, but again, they do not have to let it get ugly. I am so sorry that happened to you. I respect your opinions, Claudia, and respect your right to voice them on your blog! I always will. Be safe today protesting, and I hope you come home rejuvenated from joining hands with others in voicing and physically showing your right as American citizens to do so!

Claudia, please know that I absolutely LOVE both of you guys for making the decision to do this. I know you’re carrying many of your readers on your shoulders with you today too We who do NOT agree with Trump MUST NEVER become complacent and let the toxic swill that comes out of his mouth become “normalized’ in our culture. Germany allowed that to happen in the 20s & 30s and well, we all know how well things worked out for them, don’t we? Total destruction. Try to GET PHOTOGRAPHED if you can too. The country needs to see that citizens of ALL AGES are part in these protests. In fact MORE people actually feel the way WE do. We just have to be as loud and as vociferous for the next 4 years as they were last Tues. And that’s not going to be easy. But we know that, and WE START NOW. So I’m going to add the same little tagline as I did yesterday [maybe I should make it a permanent one]. tagline].

One of the things ‘they say’ for self-care is to go pet an animal. No sub for Scoutie but, if you can pet a horse, it’s all good, right? Just like deciding to march; I think it’ll make you feel better. Be safe.

My husband’s job has him interacting with students. He finds them so bright; so creative. He struggles to find the right words when they need to talk about the election outcome and the country’s future. He says they are so sad now; disappointed, uneasy, bewildered. It’s not what you want to see with young, first-time voters. They’d been full of verve; so hopeful. Now, a somber mood. It’s a heartbreaker.

Reuters: “Chanting slogans including ‘Not my president!’, several thousand protesters marched peacefully up New York City’s Fifth Avenue past its glitzy store fronts before filling the streets around Trump Tower, the president-elect’s skyscraper home. “We’re horrified the country has elected an incredibly unqualified, misogynist, racist on a platform that was just totally hateful,” said Mary Florin-McBride, 62, a retired banker from New York who held a sign reading, “No Fascism in America.”

Claudia, was this where you and Don were? (Silly question: Are the posh store windows decorated for Christmas yet?) How early did you leave to get into the city? Did you take the bus or the train? What time did you finally get home? Did you take a backpack with water and food, prepared for a long day? Details!!! What was the weather like? Did the crowd swell so much that at any time you felt in danger? How are you feeling afterward? Exhilarated? Better? Is your voice hoarse?!! I’ve never been in a protest march. Wondering what it’s like…

The Daily Mail: “Liberal film-maker Michael Moore made it to the fourth floor of Manhattan’s Trump Tower in his bid to confront President-elect Trump and call on him to step down, before he was stopped by Secret Service guards. Moore, who had been a vocal critic of Trump during the election, joined thousands of protesters in New York on Saturday morning, before he managed to get inside Trump Tower. After making his way into the Donald’s Central Park skyscraper, Moore attempted to get to Trump’s office. The award-winning filmmaker managed to scale Trump’s famous escalator, however he was stopped from going any further by security guards on the fourth floor. Moore was then escorted back down to the lobby, however before he left he wrote a note to Trump. ‘Mr. Trump. I’m here. I want to talk to you,’ the note read. Moore then left the building and tweeted: ‘I’m in the middle of thousands -tens of thousands?- of American voters outside Trump Tower demanding he step aside. He got the least votes.”

I think of all the protests during Vietnam. I always felt we marched as one. I hope you get that same feeling today. You have many of us trying to climb on board with you and Don, so if you slow down at all, think of us standing on your shoulders.

Still, this many days later, I woke up this morning and for about 20 seconds didn’t think about it. Then it hit once again like a ton of bricks coming down upon me. I can’t get over this. I can’t let it go or simply move on. I can’t, and I don’t have to ~ accept this. And I have come to think that knowing that is actually, a very good thing. Because that person will NEVER EVER be my president.

You go! If we lived on the east coast, lose to Manhattan, we’d be there in a NY minute. This 67 yr old did her share of marching in the sixties too. It’s important to let your voice be heard. I hope we can keep up the loyal opposition because it sure beats just pretending he’s not my president, which is what I did for most of the Bush II years. Especially after he blundered into Iraq.

HI, Claudia. I admire you and Don. Hope you had a productive and cathartic day in NYC. I will look for you both on the national news tonight during the west coast broadcast. Wish I could have been there, too. You are an inspiration!

I am late as usual but I’ve been with you all the way today…Thanks to you and Don for carrying those of us who could not be there…….The majority of “we the people” has spoken we want the true and fair winner of this election…Hillary Clinton!!!

It’s 7:30 pm and CNN is showing the protesters STILL waiting outside Trump Tower. I’ve been looking for you, but I know there are thousands there. Do you suppose that these protests will humble him in any way? His remarks thus far (about the protesters) indicate that he’s oblivious to the message, or pretending to be oblivious; I’m not sure which. Thank you for exercising your right to engage in a peaceful protest.

Dear tuta_tis,
I would like you to know that I appreciate your comment. There is a history of election fraud in this country. And you are right; we are being used.
Personally, I prefer to believe that most of those who voted for Trump were actually voting against “more of the same.” The same people; the same cronyism; the same conflicts of interest. Yes, some voters were, undoubtedly, motivated by hate/fear, but I hope, with all my heart, that they were in the minority.

I just got home from an all-day outing. I saw my first safety pin today, worn by a very good friend…she strung a large safety pin on a chain and wears it as a necklace. Hope your travels to/from Manhattan are/we’re safe and uneventful, but that you’ve been energized by your participation there. I look forward to a post about it. You and Don truly belong in my hero basket.

I am trying to figure out a way for Hannah and I to afford to go to the million women march in January. Hannah and her Dad went to Barack’s inauguration 8 years ago, an dit will always be a lifetime memory. I hate that money would keep me from going. Perhaps by then they will have figured out marches coinciding here on the west coast.

I had a garage sale today and that’s all we could talk about and nearly all of us have let go of someone in our life because of this and sadder still there was a muslim bullying issue in my daughters old grade school just blocks away. My heart and my head hurt and I’m trying to muster joy for the upcoming holidays, but I just can’t yet.

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband and dog. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating. My decorating style is eclectic but if I had to call it anything, I'd call it Christmas in Connecticut, after all those forties movies with comfy cottage style.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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